Learning in the hammock: How movement can promote the learning process

"2 x 3 makes 4, widdewiddewitt and 3 makes nine, Pippi Longstocking once sang. Deliberately provocative. Deliberately polarizing. But if you want to break the rules, you have to know them first. The multiplication table is therefore still one of the most important skills that we learn at a young age, along with the ABC. Many children find it difficult, however, and some even suffer from a learning disability. This is where hammocks can have a supportive effect. We´ll tell you how and why.

When the numbers don´t want to get into your head

There are many reasons why learning is a major effort for many girls and boys these days. For some, it´s subconscious behaviors and fears that afflict them - most notably the fear of exams and a panic about failing. Others, on the other hand, lack motivation, which is often due to a non-conducive enviroment. Social problems can also lead to children becoming more and more isolated and at the same time learning less and less. Or the parents´expectations are too high and even with a 2+ father and mother counter with the question "Why no 1?“ Whatever it is, parents should never put pressure on it. Instead, it is important to get to the bottom of the causes, work together on solutions and ensure that motivation, curiosity and momentum return. And exercise can help with that.  

Promote the learning process with the hammock

Anyone who has to make an important decision or is looking for new ideas and is stuck in the little room at home should do one thing: get moving. Great writers swore by the daily walk to clear their minds, and now corporate walk-and-talk meetings are becoming increasingly popular. No wonder, because studies show that exercise can promote the learning process. For example, the Center for Sports Science at the University of Vienna investigated the extent to which children between the ages of six and 14 benefit from psychomotor learning exercises in the classroom. It turned out that those children who took part in the experiment remembered the learning content better, were more motivated and had a better class atmosphere than their peers who hadn´t been given this opportunity. Psychomotor and sensory elements can therefore support the learning process. And here the hammock is an ideal companion. It stimulates the sense of balance, trains perception and promotes sensory integration. Restless children in particular benefit from this. Their urge to move is satisfied, but at the same time they have to concentrate on the hammock. And even with dyscalculia, a mathematical weakness caused by disorientation, hammocks are now used for learning. The rhythmic movements can obviously compensate for these disturbances.

Learning with the hammock: 3 exercises

In principle, any type of exercise that does not necessarily have to be done at the table can be done with and in a hammock. Three ideas:

1.) The child lies face down across the hammock. In front of it is a stool or armchair, on which there are cards with vocabulary, rows of numbers or letters. The child now fishes the cards one after the other and solves the tasks while at the same time paying attention to the movements of the hammock.

2.) The child sits in the hammock and touches the ground with its feet. In front of it are cards with tasks. The child fishes one of the cards with its toes and solves the task.

3.) Two children are sitting opposite each other in two hammocks. They take turns throwing a ball to each other and solve a task with each throw - for example, they take turns saying the multiplication table or forming word chains.

Or you don´t sit down at the table or on the couch for the next reading task, but instead in the hammock. By the way, this can be done in several ways - how about this time sitting cross-legged?

If you have a lot of tasks to solve that can only be done at the table, you can go to the hammock at least during the breaks and thus relieve your back and give your brain a short, energetic brather. Here we go!